Mini Tummy Tuck or Full Tuck? (photo)

Doctor Answers 16

Mini tummy tuck or full tummy tuck?

October 20th, 2014

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Hello! Thank you for your question and photos! I hope that these answers help!
Tummy tuck is an excellent method for shaping the belly and create a
flatter and sculpted abdomen after the procedure. Looking at your
photos, I do believe that you would be an excellent candidate for this
procedure in order to remove the excess skin/soft tissue of your lower
abdomen and contour the areas of your belly. Also, abdominal wall
tightening may optimize your result. Stretch marks to the level of your
umbilicus will also be excised. Also, a continued healthy and active
lifestyle prior to the procedure and afterwards is recommended in order to maintain the benefits that the
procedure has given to you.

Once you are ready for the
procedure, I would likely recommend a full tummy tuck with abdominal
wall tightening. This would remove the excess skin/soft tissue
and stretch marks while contouring your belly. The mini tummy tuck has
limited usefulness and limited candidates as it truly only addresses
excess skin in a small area above your pubis. It will not address your
abdominal wall and the tightening of such, frequently needed to achieve a shapely abdominal wall. While the recovery
time
is shorter, the benefits afforded to you by a full tummy tuck are much
greater and will optimize your result. You should consult with a
board-certified plastic surgeon well-versed in body contouring
procedures at anytime to go over options to assist you in deciding
which procedure(s) would be right for you. Best wishes!

Tummy Tuck Options

Thank you for you question. It is difficult to give accurate recommendation without an in office exam. When I evaluate the abdomen, I assess:
1. The amount of loose skin

2. The volume of fatty tissue
3. The degree of muscle laxity.

I evaluate this in each of 3 areas:
1. Upper Abdomen

2. Area around the Belly Button
3. Lower Abdomen

MINI TUMMY TUCK: If a patient has loose skin, fatty tissue, and muscle laxity limited to the Lower Abdomen, then I recommend the mini tummy tuck. In order to qualify for this, the patient must have good skin and muscle tone in their upper abdomen and area around the belly button. I will frequently perform liposuction of these areas with my Mini Tummy Tuck to enhance the overall contour.

FULL TUMMY TUCK: this is for patients who have loose skin and muscle laxity of the upper abdomen, belly button area, and lower abdomen. This procedure tightens all 3 areas with a bikini line incision. I often encorporate liposuction with my full tummy tuck as I feel it offers a superb end result.
EXTENDED TUMMY TUCK: This works well for patients who have loose skin that extends over the hip bone into the flank area. I will perform extensive liposuction and skin excision to the hip and flank area combined with full tummy tuck.

BODY LIFT/BELT LIPECTOMY: this is essentially a 360 degree tummy tuck which involves removal of loose skin and fatty tissue of the lower back and buttocks, in addition to the extended tummy tuck.
I wish you a safe recovery and amazing result!!

Mini v full tummy tuck

August 14th, 2013

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Mini tummy tucks lead to mini results. You will be best served by a full tummy tuck and give your skin type you will heal well. If you restrict the length of the scar too much you will end up with a suboptimal result and wish you had done the fully tummy tuck

Tummy Tuck Pictures

Full or Mini Tummy Tuck

August 5th, 2013

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Your best option, of course, is to consult with a board certified plastic surgeon as there is no substitute for an examination and discussion about your goals and the tradeoffs of the two procedures. To the extent that photos are helpful, it appears that you would be better suited for a full tummy tuck because of the laxity of the upper abdomen. A mini tuck will have limited benefits and you might be left with residual fullness of the upper abdomen that you find unacceptable.

Mini Tummy Tuck or Full Tuck?

August 4th, 2013

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Dear Liverpooloo,

thank you for your question and photos. You are a good candidate for a full tummytuck. You have laxity to the skin above the bellybutton which will not be fixed with a mini. You would get some improvement from a mini-tt, but you would get the most improvement from a full.

Mini Tummy Tuck or Full Tuck?

I can almost always answer this without looking at the pictures or reading the rest of the question.

Very few patients are really good candidates for a mini-TT. For them the problem is limited to the lower abdominal wall, below the navel. An example would be a slender and fit woman with loose skin overhanging a c-section incision.

Most patients have either loose skin above and below the navel, and/or abdominal wall laxity both above and below.

There are hybrid operations where the procedure adopts a bit of both techniques where the upper abdominal problem is there, but is slight.

Photos alone do not provide enough info to make a definitive recommendation. Chances are an experienced surgeon will recommend a full TT, but might suggest a hydbrid approach, such as an "umbilical float" where the navel is lifted off the abdominal wall to allow access for tightening the upper abdominal muscles, after which the navel is reattached either at its original site, or slightly lower to address a minimal upper abdominal skin excess.

Full or mini-tt

July 30th, 2013

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Very few people are actually good candidates for a mini-tt. You don't give a detailed description of yourself and your history (kids, no kids, weight, etc) so it's hard to say. It depends on many things such as your skin elasticity, if you muscle needs to be tightened and most importantly what your expectations are. Best bet would be to go see a board certified plastic surgeon for an in-person consultation and physical exam then go over your options. Make sure you see a surgeon who does many TT and liposuction procedures. ac

Mini or full tummy tuck?

July 29th, 2013

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It is very dificult to make a firm recommendation without all the information and fully examining your abdomen. On the surface, you look like you coulf benefit from a full tummy tuck but I cannot trully tell based on pictures and limited information. Sorry!

Tummy Tuck Options?

July 27th, 2013

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A mini or modified tummy tuck, with or without liposuction, as well as one of a variety of full tummy tucks that exist can produce a good cosmetic appearance in the appropriate patient. Following the advice from a surgeon or any other website who proposes to tell you what to do based on two dimensional photos without examining you, physically feeling the tissue, assessing your desired outcome, taking a full medical history, and discussing the pros and cons of each operative procedure would not be in your best interest. I would suggest you find a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and ideally a member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery that you trust and are comfortable with. You should discuss your concerns with that surgeon in person.

A modified abdominoplasty with a floating of the umbilicus can produce a very nice significant result in many patients. The result depends on the extent of looseness of your tissue above the umbilicus (belly button), since there is a limitation of how much tightness you can get with that procedure and still maintain a normal appearing position of the navel.

Full Tummy Tuck

July 26th, 2013

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Thank you for the pictures. I was devastated I would recommend a full tummy tuck for you. It will give complete access to your abdominal wall. The mini is very restrictive. because only gives access to the lower abdominal wall muscles. classic surgeons. Best wishes.

These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as
a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you
have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute
or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.